Cord-forming apparatus



Dec. 31, 1929.

L. ATWQGD GGRD FORMING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11. 192e 3 slams-shew:I

I.. Arwoon v1,742,172

CORD -FORMI'NG APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11, 1928- 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 med Mig.11. 192e -s sheets-sheen 3 l Iii ueio ff, t' graad"` Patented Dec. 431,1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LE.')."L\TARD ATWOOD, OF FARMINGTGN,MAXNE, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL HIGH`PRESSURE HOSE CQ., OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATIO OF MASSACHUSETTS CORD-FORIVIING APPARATUSApplication filed August 11, 1928. Serial No. 298,932.

This invention relates to the formation of cords or cables of wire andthread twisted together to providea twisted cord of great strength anddurability that shall be suficiently flexible or pliable in order topermit of its being woven into high pressure hose or other fabric wherehigh resistance, combined with flexibility, is desired. 'lhe yarn libresare combined with fine strands of wire in order to give the desiredflexibility, as well as to form a compressible lilling in associationwith the strands of wire.

The present invention comprises a twisting or cord forming apparatusembracing, generally speaking, a rcvoluble head constructed to support aseries of bobbins carrying the wire strands and another series ofbobbins carrying the yarn strands in association with a perforatedtwisting guide plate and cord gripping and feeding means arranged togrip and engage the twisted strands to draw them away from the twistingelements at a` predetermined ratio to impart a predetermined twist tothe combined strands of wire and yarn, or thread. Associated with thetwisting and feeding means is a winding device by which the twisted cordis wound in a predetermined manner upon a carrier spool, that isrevolved at variable speeds to always keep the winding cord under propertension, whether it is being wound upon the bare spool barrel or uponthe periphery of the package as the spoolbecomes lilled. To impart anydesired form of wind, whether closely wound coils or a criss-crosswinding of the coils, provision is made for traversing the cordlongitudinally of thel spool at any desired rate to give the desiredtype of winding.

Another feature ofthe invention resides in the provision of means bywhich the winding spool is frictionally driven and is itself employed asthe actuating element for thev "invention, in which Fig. l is a sideelevation showing the complete assembled cord-forming apparatus.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the twisting and feeding mechanism on thecross sectional plane 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a detail view in vertical section of the twisting' elementconstruction.

Fig. 4 illustrates on an enlarged scale the details of construct-ionbefore tensioning the supply bobbins which carry respectively the yarnand the wire strands, which are to be formed into the composite cord.

Fig. is a plan view of the assembled machine.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged end elevation of the cord winding mechanism anddevices.

Fig. 7 is an end elevation ofthe assembled machine as viewed from the,tail end thereof.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged end elevation showing the cord traversing devices.

Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views illustrating the construction andarrangement of the cord feeding devices.

In the practice of the invention according to the form illustrated inthe drawings, I provide a bed or frame l provided at one end withupstanding bearing brackets 2 for rotatably supporting the drive shaft3, which may be driven by belt from an overhead shipper vshaft orotherwise, and which car- -ries a revoluble head 4 'carrying bobbinsupporting spindles 5, whose outer ends are threaded to receive afriction nut 5a which is ordinarily turned into light frictional contactagainst each yarn spool 6 mounted on such spindle and which, in the caseof the wire carrying spools 6a, abut against a compression spring 6hinterposed between the .head of the spool (3a-and the clamping nut 5 tosecure' the desired flexibility of adjustment of the tension on the wirespools 6.

To the projecting inner or tail end of the shaft 8 is secured thetwisting element, in this case comprising a disc 7 provided with anannular series of guide eyes 7b and removably clamped to the shaft 3 bymeans of the fastening nut 7, The strands of yarn andof wire are carriedthrough the separate guide eyes 7 b of the twisting element which,through the agency' of interposed rings or washers 7 c, can be setnearer to, or farther i from,l the revoluble head 4 so as to vary thepitch or angle of the converging strands to the twisting member. At adistance beyond the twisting element 7 is located a strand- `convergingguide eye 9a secured in a guide plate 9, which is clamped to an uprightsupporting bracket 8 whose upper reduced end can be passed through anyone of the longitudinal series of-holes in the plate 9 and clamped inposition to provide suitable spacimparted to the strands in the twistingprocess,although the final twist will be determined by the relativenumber of revolutions of the twisting head to a given unit of length fedthrough the machine.

Beyond the guide 'eye 9a is located the feeding mechanism which, in thiscase, comprises a pair of cooperating oppositely revolving gripping andfeeding heads or members 12 which, as illustrated in the drawings,comprise circular discs 13.secured to the upper ends of vertical shaftsl1 which eX- tend through tubular sleeves or bearing members 10, saidheads being provided with bands or rings l5 of soft metal, such ascopper'on'other suitable/material, which are slightly'grooved orhollowed to grip the cord assin between the heads, the engaging surace othe peripheral bands l5 being preferably knurled approximately incorrespondence with the twist of the cord. These bands are heldremovably in place so as to permit renewal by means of clamping covers14:.

Inv order to bring the rotary feeding members into proper grippingengagement with the interposed cord (shown at a), I provide means fordrawing the heads toward each other. In this case the means comprise anelongated loop or strap 164 adapted to be placed over and around thesupporting sleeves 10 and provided with opposed thrust screws 16", whichcan be ,screwed inwardly to force the bearing sleeves of these shaftstoward each other with any desired degree of pressure. To facilitatethis clamping or gripping adjustment of the feed members, the tubularbearing brackets l0 are provided at their lower ends with attachingtianges 10 which rest uponl cushions 10b of slightly yielding material,such as leather or semi.- hard rubber, since only a very slight movementat the lower end is needed to permit the requisite range of movementtoward each other of the rotating feed members.

To provide for the driving of the feed members and t-he windingmechanism, I ar-.

range in the bed of the machine a longitudinal countershaft 20 driven bya variable speed connection from the main shaft 3, comarisino s rocketwheels 3a 3b for trans- 4 mitting driving motion to the shaft 20 bymeans of a sprocket chain 2l passed around one of said sprocket wheelsand also around a correspondingly arranged sprocket wheel 2On or 2Ob onthe shaft 20.

Intermediate of the ends of the countershaft 20 is a worm 22 arrangedbetween and meshing with two worm wheels 23 secured on the lower ends ofthe feed shafts 11 It will therefore be seen that when the counters ingshaft 28 is mounted in a bearing standard or bracket 29 and has secured,at its inner end, a friction disc 30 which engages the outer end face ofthe Winding spool 3l, which is centered with the shaft 28 through theengagement of the pointed inner end'of the shaft with a conical socketformed centrally on the spool head.

T he spool driving shaft is rotated from the longitudinal countershaft2O through the medium of a cross shaft 26 having mitre gear connection25 with the shaft 2O and havin sprocket driving connection with theshaft 28 through the sprocket chain 27.

Obviously when the cord is being woundon the small diameter of thespool, it will require more rapid rotation to take up a given length ofcord than when the cord is winding on the,

large diameter. The driving connections are so proportioned that evenwhen winding on the small diameter the spool will rotate slightly fasterthan is necessary to take up the slack of the cord delivered so as toput tension on the cord and'keep it taut, thereby preventing anypossibility of kinking or snarling. This is permitted owing to theslippage between the head of the spool and thedriving clutch. Thetension or pressure against the driving clutch member 30 may beregulated by means of the tensioning screw 33 passed through a threadedsupporting box 34a, carried by a standard 34 and held against accidentalturning by the set screw 33a carried by said box. The inner end of thisadjusting screw 33 rests loosely in a hollow hub or socket 32a formed ona coupling pinion 32, which is provided with laterally projecting prongs32b telescoping a little way into corresponding holes formed in the head3la of the spool. This pinion coupling isremovable as soon as thetensioning or thrust screw 33 is withdrawn so as to permit theinterchange of coupling pinions of various diameters in order to varythe rapidity of traverse of the distributing eye,

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l.'85 the winding mechanism. A short spool dl'iv- A i the cord beyondthefeeding melnbers under continuous tension at all times.

Forwardly of the winding spool are mountt. ed vertical standards 50,which carry a vertically adjustable horizontal track bar 46, on which isloosely mounted a block or sheave forming a distributing guide eye forthe cord a. which passes through it. This distributing member ortraverse guide is reciprocated on the track bar 46 b y means'of aswinging telescopic lever comprising the socket member 44 fulcrumed at44b and the interior member 44a connected with the distributing member45.

On the standards 50 is mounteda lower track bar 42 carrying areciprocatory block 41, which has a connecting link 43 pivotallyconnecting it with the swinging arm 44 and which also has a linkconnection 40, and which is also connected by a link'or pitman 40 withthe crank pin of a rotary disc, 39 whose rotation swings the arm 44 toand fro in order to distribute the yarn lengthwise, as it winds on thespool. The crank disc 39 is secured on the shaft 38, which is -driven bymeans of mitre gears 37 and transverse shaft 36, to which rotation isimparted by a change speed gearing embracing the pinion 36a,the variablespeed two-step pinion 35 mounted on the horizontal transverse shaft 35aand intel-meshing with the coupling pinion 32. l/Vhen it is desired togive the winding distributor 45 a relatively rapid movement in relationto the revolving spool, in order to effect an open cross wind, a largerdriving pinion 32 adapted to intermesh with the smaller member of thecompound pinion 35 is employed. For close winding, such as illustratedin the drawings, the small pinion 32 would be intermeshed with thelarger pinion 35, which would be shifted laterally on and secured to theshaft 35a to give the proper ratio of movement between the distributingguide and the winding spool.

The track bar 46 carrying lthe winding guidev is adjustable andobviously the higher it is adjusted the longer will be the actuatingtelescopic lever and the greater will be the range of its lateraltraverse. The track bar 42 is also vertically adjustable by means of theset screws 42a and the higher this bar is setabove the shaft 38 theless-will be the traverse imparted by the rotation of the crank pin onthe crank disc 39.

From the foregoing it will be seen that provision is made for changingthe number of twists per inch and modifying the steepness with which theseveral strands are brought together through the twisting guide plate 7,as well as for adjusting the gripping tension of the feed members tocords of diiferent size. Furthermore, provision is made for varying thewinding tension on the spool and for varying the pitch of the successivecoils of cord to give a closely coiled or a cross wound bobbin. Thetensioning of the individual wire strands and of the individual yarnstrands can also be appropriately varied so that a uniform twist, withany desired frm of wind, may be effected by this apparatus.

Vhile the telescoping arm 44, 44@L permits the adjustment resulting inincreasing the range of traverse of the cord distributing eye, it willalso be understood that this construction acts to permit the easyconversion of the swinging movement of the arm into a4 straight linereciprocation of the distributing member quite apart from anyadjustment.

'1` he tension that is continually exerted by the winding spool upon thestretch of cord extending to the 'feeding devices serves to counteractany tendency toward slip between the feeding devices and the cord thatis gripped between them, in addition to obviating any tendency of thecord to'kink if it were not kept under tension.

What lclaim is l. A machine for producing cord of intertwisted yarn andwire embracing in combination, a revoluble head, a plurality of bobbinsof wire and of yarn carried by said head and rotatable about individualaxes substantially parallel to the axis of revolution, a strandconverging guide-eye arranged at a substantial distance from said headin an axial direction, an intermediate twisting member provided withguide openings for the individual strands of wire and of yarn, saidopening being located at radial distancesfrom the axis of revolutionsubstantially less than the radial distances of the bobbins whereby theunwinding strands are partly1 converged between the head and thetwisting member and are caused to travel more nearly in parallels ismbetween the twisting member and said eye, and cord gripping and feedingmeans located beyond said eye.

2. A machine for producing cord of intertwisted yarn and wire, embracingin combination, a revoluble head, plural bobbins of yarn and of wiremounted on said head for rotation about aXes substantially parallel withthe axis of revolution, a revoluble strand-guiding twisting disk and astrand converging guide eye spaced at dilferent axial distancesrespectively from said head yto cause the strands of yarn and of lwireto converge together at said guide-eye in two angular stages andpositively driven rotatable cord gripping and feeding members arranged.beyond said guide-eye.

3. A machine for producing cord of intertwisted yarn and wire, embracingin combination, a revoluble head, plural bobbins ofy yarn andof wireloosely mounted on supporting spindles projecting from one side of saidhead in an axial direction, a perforated twist'- ing plate Vsecured tosaid head to revolve therewith and guide said strands inwardly at anacute angle to their axes of rotation, a strand, converging guide eyelocatedat a substantial distance axially from said plate and. adjustableto vary its distance from said plate and thereby lead the strands moreor less nearly to parallelism with the axis of revolution as theyapproach the guide-eye and positivelydriven rotary cord gripping andfeed-l ing members locatedfbeyond the guide-eye.y l

f1. A machinefor producing cord of intertwisted yarn and wire, embracingin combination, a revoluble head, a seriesof bobbins of yarn and of wirecarriedthereby to be rotatable about axes substantially parallel withthe axis of revolution, a revoluble perforated strand-guiding andtwisting member and a strand convergin guide-eye located at differentdistances axia ly from said head, rotatable cord grip ing and feedingIwheels located beyond sai guide-eye a counter shaft parallel with theaxis of revolution of said head and having worm and gear drivingconnection with said Wheels, said counter shaft itself having positivedriven connection with the revoluble head to ensure a predeterminedratio of revolution between the feed wheels and the head.

5. A machine for producing cord of inter-'- twisted yarn and Wire,embracing ,in combination, a revoluble head, bobbins of yarn and of Wiremounted thereon for rotation 'about axes parallel to the axis ofrevolution, means for guiding the strands of wire and of yarn to acommon guide-eye arranged at a distance from the head and in co-axialalignment therewith, a pair of opposed cord gripping and feeding membersarranged beyond Ehe guide-eye, bearing sleeves affording bearingsupports for said feeding members, means for adjusting said bearingsleeves nearer to each other to properly grip the interposed cord forfeeding purposes, and a frictional driven winding spool having variablespeed driving means for winding4 the cord in the spool and keeping ittaut at all times.

6. A machine for producing cord of intertwisted yarn and wire, embracingin combination, a revoluble head, bobbins of yarn and of wire rotatablymounted therein, guiding means for directing said strands to a common.

guide-eye axially distanct from the head, cord gripping and feedingmembers located beyond said guide-eye and positively driven in definiterelation to the revolution of said head, tensioning means forfrictionaly retarding the rotation of said bobbins to keep the strandstaut in advance of the guide-eye and'a frictionally driven windingmember having actuating means tending to keep the cord taut at all timesbe 7ond said guide-eye.

7. A machine for producing cord of intertwisted yarn and Wire, embracingin combination,a revoluble series of individually rotatable bobbins ofyarn and of wire, cord gripping and feeding'members driven at apredetermined ratio of speed to the revolution of said bobbins,intermediate strand guiding and converging means, variable'tensioningmeans for controlling the tension of the strands as they unwind from thebobbin, a Winding Aspool for drawing the twisted cord from said feedingmeans andspool actuating means having driving connection with the spoolthrough a predetermined but variable friction connection. y

In W1tness whereof, I have subscr1bed the above specification.

LEONARD ATWOOD.

